Round seven of this year’s British Superbikes saw the contest head to Thruxton. One of the season’s gentler courses – what the track lacks in twists and turns was more than compensated for by the action provided by the riders!
As the season has progressed it’s become clearer and clearer that Milwaukee Yamaha’s Josh Brookes would be the one to watch. Despite a struggle to get started, thanks to stiff competition from reigning champ Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne for PBM Kawasaki, Brookes followed up his double win in round six with another this weekend, finally nudging him to the top of the leaderboard.
Race one was certainly eventful, with Brookes dodging incidents left and right to come out victorious. Lap five saw Richard Cooper break down, spilling oil that took out Christian Iddon and early season leader James Ellison, stopping the race. After the restart, race leader John Hopkins also crashed out, leaving Brookes clear to take the win. Dan Linfoot and James Westmoreland joined him on the podium.
Ellison’s crash in race one resulted in a broken wrist, which saw him on the sidelines for the rest of the round. Race two also saw stoppages and no shortage of incidents, with Brookes ultimately battling it out with Byrne for first place and Like Mossey taking third.
Brookes’ double win sees the Australian just a handful of points ahead of Byrne, with the two a solid hundred between them and the rest of the pack.
Pos. | Rider | Team | Pts |
1 | Josh Brookes | Milwaukee Yamaha | 266 |
2 | Shane Byrne | PBM Kawasaki | 254 |
3 | James Ellison | JG Speedfit Kawasaki | 147 |
4 | Stuart Easton | PBM Kawasaki | 139 |
5 | Michael Laverty | Tyco BMW | 115 |
6 | Tommy Bridewell | Tyco BMW | 112 |
Both will have their sights set firmly on a win at Caldwell Park at the end of August – who will come out on top?